Focusing on politics and society in India, this book explores new areas enmeshed in the complex social, economic and political processes in the country. Linking the structural characteristics with the broader sociological context, the book emphasizes the strong influence of sociological issues on politics, such as social milieu shaping and the articulation of the political in day-to-day events. Political events are connected with the ever-changing social, economic and political processes in order to provide an analytical framework to explain ‘peculiarities’ of Indian politics. Bidyut Chakrabarty argues that three major ideological influences of colonialism, nationalism and democracy have provided the foundational values of Indian politics. Structured thematically and chronologically, this work is a useful resource for students of political science, sociology and South Asian studies.

Providing a comprehensive analysis of the broad spectrum of India’s politics, this undergraduate textbook explains the key features of politics in India in a comparative and accessible narrative, illustrated with relevant maps, life stories, statistics and opinion data. Familiar concepts of comparative politics are used to highlight the policy process, with a focus on anti-poverty measures, liberalisation of the economy, nuclearisation and relations with the United States and Asian neighbours such as Pakistan and China. The author raises several key questions relevant to Indian politics, including: •?Why has India succeeded in making a relatively peaceful transition from colonial rule to a resilient, multi-party democracy in contrast to her neighbours? •?How has the interaction of modern politics and traditional society contributed to the resilience of post-colonial democracy? •?How did India’s economy – moribund for several decades following independence – make a breakthrough into rapid growth, and, can India sustain it? •?And finally, why have collective identity and nationhood emerge as the core issue of India in the 21st century? Introducing the novice to India, this accessible, genuinely comparative account of India’s political evolution also engages the expert in a deep contemplation of the nature of strategic manoeuvring within India’s domestic and international context. In addition to pedagogical features such as text boxes, a set of further readings is provided as a to guide readers who wish to go beyond the remit of this text.

The second edition of this textbook brings together general political theory and the comparative method to interpret socio-political phenomena and issues that have occupied the Indian state and society since 1947. It considers the progress that India has made in some of the most challenging aspects of post-colonial politics such as governance, democracy, economic growth, welfare, and citizenship. Looking at the changed global role of India, its standing in the G-20 and BRICS, as well as the implications of the 2014 Indian general elections for state and society, this updated edition also includes sections on the changing socio-political status of women in India, corruption and terrorism. The author raises several key questions relevant to Indian politics, including: • Why has India succeeded in making a relatively peaceful transition from colonial rule to a resilient, multi-party democracy in contrast to its South Asian neighbours? • How has the interaction of modern politics and traditional society contributed to the resilience of post-colonial democracy? • How did India’s economy moribund—for several decades following Independence—make a breakthrough into rapid growth and can India sustain it? • And finally, why have collective identity and nationhood emerged as the core issues for India in the twenty-first century and with what implications for Indian democracy? The textbook goes beyond India by asking about the implications of the Indian case for the general and comparative theory of the post-colonial state. The factors which might have caused failures in democracy and governance are analysed and incorporated as variables into a model of democratic governance. In addition to pedagogical features such as text boxes, a set of further readings is provided to guide readers who wish to go beyond the remit of this text. The book will be essential reading for undergraduate students and researchers in South Asian and Asian studies, political science, development studies, sociology, comparative politics and political theory.

This book traces the development-environment discourse in India and examines the multi-layered interaction between society and nature in the light of the role of the state, judiciary and the civil society. Through an array of perspectives, the volume challenges the conventional approach to understanding the environmental politics in South Asia without considering the role of the civil society and other informal actors, which has radically altered the conventional articulation of the phenomenon. The volume underlines distinct structural characteristics of developmental politics in India and the social concerns and challenges which come in the way of environmental policy and governance in India. It is a meaningful intervention in unearthing significant socio-political and economic processes which are critical to the environmental governance in India. The book will not only be helpful in studying the state of policy, administration and politics of environmental discourse in India, but also guide the policymakers to explore the sustainable ways of environmental governance in South Asia. Insightful and lucid, this book will be useful to the students, researchers and faculty working in the field of political science, public administration, public policy, political sociology, political economy and governance studies. It will also be an invaluable and interesting reading for those interested in South Asian studies.

Western policymakers, political activists and academics alike see patronage as the chief enemy of open, democratic societies. Patronage, for them, is a corrupting force, a hallmark of failed and failing states, and the obverse of everything that good, modern governance ought to be. South Asia poses a frontal challenge for this consensus. Here the world's most populous, pluralist and animated democracy is also a hotbed of corruption with persistently startling levels of inequality. Patronage as Politics in South Asia confronts this paradox with calm erudition: sixteen essays by anthropologists, historians and political scientists show, from a wide range of cultural and historical angles, that in South Asia patronage is no feudal residue or retrograde political pressure, but a political form vital in its own right. This volume suggests that patronage is no foe to South Asia's burgeoning democratic cultures, but may in fact be their main driving force.

This book presents an alternative view of caste in Indian society by analysing caste structure and change in local communities in Orissa from historical and anthropological perspectives. Focusing on the agricultural society in the Khurda district of Orissa between the eighteenth century and 2019, the book links discussions on the current transformation of society and politics in India with analyses of long-term historical transformations. The author suggests that, beyond status and power, there is another value which is important in Indian society, namely ontological equality, which functions as the politico-ethical ground for asserting respect and concern for the life of others. The book argues that the value of ontological equality has played an important role in creating and affirming the diverse society which characterises India. It further contends that the movement towards vernacular democracy, which has become conspicuous since the second half of the 1990s, is a historically groundbreaking event which opens a path beyond the postcolonial predicament, supported by the affirmation of diversity by subalterns based on the value of ontological equality. This important contribution to the study of Indian society will be of interest to academics working on the social, political and economic history, sociology, anthropology and political science of South Asia, as well as to those interested in social and political theory.

This volume explores the emergence, evolution and definition of the middle class in India. As a class created as the interpreters between the colonial rulers and the millions whom they governed in the pre-Independence era, the Indian middle class has existed in congruence with the state, occupying vital positions in state administration. Since Independence, this middle class underwent major sociological change as they live independent of the state, which affected their social, economic and political position, reaping benefits of liberalisation and globalisation through education and employment. An otherwise internally differentiated and heterogeneous group, the new Indian middle class often unifies itself to shape socio-political discourse that affects politics and policymaking, from domestic to international affairs. This volume analyses this class phenomenon through a close study of a new metropolitan middle class in India – the software professionals, emblematic of the 'new India’. It discusses this emerging class as a political category and their engagements with the state, democracy, political parties, issues of gender, basic necessities and social justice. Further, it discusses their social action and ‘middle class activism’ for issues such as environment, cleanliness and corruption, particularly highlighting its presence in the private sector and electronic media. A fresh perspective on India’s political milieu, this volume will be of interest to scholars and researchers of sociology, modern Indian history, political science, economics and South Asia studies.

The Indian State Is Facing Many New Challenges And Its Capacity To Deal With Problems Of The Twenty First Century Has Been A Special Focus Of Our Study. Every Pillar Of Indian State Like Democracy, Secularism, And Sovereignty Is Under Attack From The Forces Of Hindutva And Global Capitalism. Has The Indian State Shown Any Capacity To Defend Secular Democracy And National Sovereignty? These Issues Have Been Examined In Our Study On The Basis Of Marxist Theoretical Framework Of Historical Materialism And Class Theory

Examining the politics of social change in India after independence and using the post-colonial state as the backdrop, this book addresses the theoretical issues of transformation in a multicultural and hierarchical society coping with the twin challenges of democratization and development.